Movie and TV reviews, contests, and so much more. Don't forget to disable your adblocker!

The Flash Season 5 Episode 3: The Death of Vibe Review

If you would like to read my review of the last episode of The Flash, click here.

Synopsis: After Cicada’s attack, the team realizes it needs to think outside the box to stop this dangerous new foe; Nora comes up with a plan that ultimately puts a team member in danger; Caitlin delves into her past. (TVGuide)

Writers: Jonathan Butler & Gabriel Garza

Director: Andi Armaganian

Rating:TV-PG

Running Time:43mins

Airs: Tuesdays at 8pm on Space (Canada)/The CW (United States)

Just when it looked like The Flash was going to have a stellar season, an episode like this comes along and shatters all hopes and dreams. There are parts of it worth commending but overall the episode was a halt to the excitement of the two episodes that preceded it.

This week’s episode begins with a flash-forward to the year 2032, with a young Nora walking through the Flash Museum into the Hall of Villains. Her voiceover sets the stage for this season’s big bad, Cicada (Chris Klein). It’s one villain Team Flash was never able to catch, and according to Nora, he has made his appearance too early.

Not only did Team Flash fail in bringing down Cicada, but so did Supergirl, the Green Arrow, the Legends, and the League (wait, which league?!). But Nora promises she has a plan to take him down, and once again we’re left wondering if this is another attempt to impress Barry.

Meanwhile, Ralph answers a call from the CCPD during a robbery, which results in an epic fail thanks to his Elongated Man costume that becomes an overnight meme. Nora reveals her plan to use a Harrison Wells to help catch Cicada and the first one up is a German Harrison Wells. Unfortunately, he’s too busy and recruits Harrison Sherlock Wells instead, er I’m sorry Sherloque.

Upon meeting the team, Sherloque is quick to reveal everyone’s secrets including the fact that Iris may be covering up a tattoo from a previous lover (say whaaa?). Unfortunately, Sherloque comes with a hefty price but the team reluctantly agrees to pay it agreeing to sell off some equipment from Star Labs.

Sherloque isn’t very intrigued by Ralph’s presence since he too is an investigator, so Ralph joins Caitlin instead on a field trip to see her mom. She wants to learn more about her father’s supposed death certificate and is convinced her mom is lying. After speaking with her mom, both Caitlin and Ralph find themselves skeptical of what she had to say.

They break into the file room which Ralph attempts to open by elongating his hand under the door, but this fails because of the security lasers in place. Luckily, Caitlin is able to guess the passcode (her birthday) and get into her father’s file. They find an old game that Caitlin and her dad used to play, along with a suicide note that was addressed to her.

Sherloque believes he’s identified the man behind Cicada, but when Nora and Barry go to investigate, they catch the culprit a bit too quickly and easily. It turns out the real Cicada is at Joe and Cecile’s house and is using Joe as his next target to find Vibe, aka Cisco.

Barry is certain that the guy they caught is not Cicada, despite Nora’s insistence that it is. It is here where Barry realizes that Nora is too eager to overlook the proper sequence of handling things, and tells her she has to slow down and think through before taking action.

The team is frazzled over why Sherloque didn’t have the right guy, and it turns out it’s because he’s caught Cicada 37 times before, and it’s always been the same guy. Barry points out that since Nora has arrived, things have changed slightly and it may be why it is no longer the same man that was Cicada in the multiverse.

Back at the West house, Cecile wakes up to hear Cicada trying to torture Joe, and ends up sending out a distress signal to the team. Cisco is the first to show up and before anything can happen, Cicada takes him and leaves while Barry shows up immediately after.

Sherloque is able to figure out where Cicada has taken Cisco, and when Barry shows up, his powers are drained from Cicada’s daggers. As promised, Nora takes a moment to think through a solid plan and then tells Iris she knows what to do. She grabs one of the power devices from the Pipeline and heads to where Barry, Cisco, and Cicada are. She throws it to Cisco who tries to use it against Cicada.

But before he knows it, Cicada throws it back towards Cisco, and it feels like the title of the episode comes to fruition. But fret not, because this was all part of Nora’s plan and Cisco is alive and well!

Back at the lab, Sherloque agrees to stick around while Barry and Iris ask Nora to move in with them. Caitlin realizes there is a message to encode from the stuff she found in her dad’s file which turns out to be “Caitlin, come find me”. And considering there is someone watching her, could it be him?

During Joe’s brief time with Cicada, he tells Cecile that he can tell Cicada is a father, and lo and behold, he is! We see him visiting a child in a coma at the hospital, so there seems to be a lot more to learn about this character than meets the eye.

The episode ends with Sherloque questioning Nora about what made her come to this time, and if it was truly her decision. Based on her reaction, we’re starting to wonder the same thing.